All Stories
- Chemistry
See the ‘periodic table’ of molecular knots
A new table of knots points the way to twisting molecules in increasingly complex pretzels.
- Planetary Science
OSIRIS-REx snaps first images of asteroid Bennu
OSIRIS-REx got its first glimpse of near-Earth asteroid Bennu. The probe will collect a sample from the asteroid and return it to Earth.
- Astronomy
Strange gamma rays from the sun may help decipher its magnetic fields
The sun spits out more and weirder gamma rays than anyone expected, which could give a new view of the sun’s magnetic fields.
- Animals
There’s method in a firefly’s flashes
Fireflies use their flashing lights for mating and maybe even to ward away predators.
- Planetary Science
Here’s where the Hayabusa2 spacecraft will land on the asteroid Ryugu
Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe and its landers will touch down on the asteroid Ryugu in the next few months to pick up dust samples and return them to Earth.
- Life
We may now know when hand, foot and mouth disease outbreaks will occur
Birthrates and immunity rates predict the spread of viruses that cause hand, foot and mouth disease.
- Chemistry
Lithium-oxygen batteries are getting an energy boost
A new version of the lithium-oxygen battery could pack more energy and last longer than its predecessors.
- Neuroscience
How antibodies attack the brain and muddle memory
Human antibodies that target key brain proteins cause memory trouble when delivered into mice’s brains.
- Quantum Physics
A new quantum device defies the concepts of ‘before’ and ‘after’
Two events can happen in different orders at the same time, thanks to quantum physics.
- Climate
Chances of an Atlantic hurricane season busier than 2005’s are slim — for now
The 28 named tropical storms that swirled through the Atlantic Ocean in 2005 is about as many as the region can produce in a year.
- Health & Medicine
Air pollution is shaving a year off our average life expectancy
The first country-by-country look at how dirty air affects when we die shows it can have more impact on mortality than breast or lung cancer.
- Humans
Meet the first known child of a Neandertal and a Denisovan
DNA analysis of a bone fragment reveals Neandertal movements between Siberia and western Europe.
